According to a press report, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) plans to oppose the request for $90.8 million in attorney’s fees filed by counsel for African-American farmers who sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture for discrimination in the administration of farm loan programs. Additional information about the fee petition appears in Issue 405 of this Update. While DOJ lawyers have not yet filed a formal opposition to the fee petition, in other court papers they have apparently indicated that “the government does not agree with every point made by plaintiffs in support of final approval of this settlement agreement.” The fee request represents 7.4 percent of the proposed $1.25 billion settlement. Ten individuals reportedly filed an objection to the settlement earlier in August, contending that settling the matter before discovery would be detrimental to plaintiffs who would lose their bargaining leverage with the federal government. See The BLT: The Blog of LegalTimes, August 24, 2011.